RaWarrior
Well-Known Member
So it's been probably 5-6 years now since I owned my Max, since then I've been on a 03 Z1000, then a 15 Z1000, and now a Scout. The Z's were a lot of fun, but I was just out of control on them. Too fast, too tempting. Put myself back on a sporty-ish cruiser to try and slow down, and my focus started to shift from go-fast hooliganism to enjoying some longer rides (although I still want my bike to have some nuts to it).
The Scout is a really fun bike, for only an 1100 v-twin it's revvy (8800rpm) and has a satisfying top end powerband, around 6000 it actually reminds me of v-boost the way it really comes on the power, although ultimately it maxes out at 96-97hp so it wouldn't give a Max any fits. It's by no means "underpowered" at all, and will push itself to an honest 130. For normal cruising, it's more than adequate. But I rode the 3 Twisted Sisters with it the other weekend, and quickly found myself missing the torque. It's a top-endy sort of motor. For normal riding, roll on performance is fine, but when you want to really attack some corners, have to ride it like a 600- constant shifting to keep the motor up in the power, since there's not a whole lot going on down low. I had a lot of fun, and granted I was trying to keep up with a KTM 1290 Super Adventure (I didn't really, but not for lack of effort).
I've started looking at the Rocket 3's as an alternative. I really enjoyed the muscle cruiser aspect of the Max, but ended up selling it from the seemingly incurable handling and stability issues. I demo'd a R3 and even bone stock the engine was a total animal. The transmission is pretty much optional. There's just sooooo much torque on tap. I even thought it handled pretty well given it's size and weight. My buddy has a Valkyrie, and I thought the R3 felt considerably more agile and easier to maneuver at low speeds. And with a LOT more power.
I found a clean used 2005 model that's been owned by a lifelong Triumph enthusiast and clearly very well cared for. Already has the nice extras like the performance mufflers, airbox/ "bearclaw" delete, ECU flash, weak early OEM clutch replaced with a Barnett, Corbin seat, backrest, luggage rack, ect. Claims it dyno'd at 147hp and 155ft-lbs torque. Also had a few of the known issues updated or fixed that plagued the early model R3's. Plus it's red, so it's the faster one.
Anyway, my main hang-up is reliability issues. Of course the seller claims it's been a great bike, he did have a few of the known issues (key switch shorted out, bearing in the final drive blew up) and updated them to the later model parts. I did some research on Triumph forums, and I have to say it's a little scary. I know forums can give a skewed perspective- people always post about their problems, people rarely post about how everything is just fine.
Just wondering if anyone here owns/owned one and has any feedback about it. I'm new to Trumpets, so don't really know a ton about them other than internet reading.
The Scout is a really fun bike, for only an 1100 v-twin it's revvy (8800rpm) and has a satisfying top end powerband, around 6000 it actually reminds me of v-boost the way it really comes on the power, although ultimately it maxes out at 96-97hp so it wouldn't give a Max any fits. It's by no means "underpowered" at all, and will push itself to an honest 130. For normal cruising, it's more than adequate. But I rode the 3 Twisted Sisters with it the other weekend, and quickly found myself missing the torque. It's a top-endy sort of motor. For normal riding, roll on performance is fine, but when you want to really attack some corners, have to ride it like a 600- constant shifting to keep the motor up in the power, since there's not a whole lot going on down low. I had a lot of fun, and granted I was trying to keep up with a KTM 1290 Super Adventure (I didn't really, but not for lack of effort).
I've started looking at the Rocket 3's as an alternative. I really enjoyed the muscle cruiser aspect of the Max, but ended up selling it from the seemingly incurable handling and stability issues. I demo'd a R3 and even bone stock the engine was a total animal. The transmission is pretty much optional. There's just sooooo much torque on tap. I even thought it handled pretty well given it's size and weight. My buddy has a Valkyrie, and I thought the R3 felt considerably more agile and easier to maneuver at low speeds. And with a LOT more power.
I found a clean used 2005 model that's been owned by a lifelong Triumph enthusiast and clearly very well cared for. Already has the nice extras like the performance mufflers, airbox/ "bearclaw" delete, ECU flash, weak early OEM clutch replaced with a Barnett, Corbin seat, backrest, luggage rack, ect. Claims it dyno'd at 147hp and 155ft-lbs torque. Also had a few of the known issues updated or fixed that plagued the early model R3's. Plus it's red, so it's the faster one.
Anyway, my main hang-up is reliability issues. Of course the seller claims it's been a great bike, he did have a few of the known issues (key switch shorted out, bearing in the final drive blew up) and updated them to the later model parts. I did some research on Triumph forums, and I have to say it's a little scary. I know forums can give a skewed perspective- people always post about their problems, people rarely post about how everything is just fine.
Just wondering if anyone here owns/owned one and has any feedback about it. I'm new to Trumpets, so don't really know a ton about them other than internet reading.
